


Finding Home Between Unused Joints And Unwanted Children

by 56leon



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dolls, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nazunii is a doll, and everybody else is homeless, does it sound even REMOTELY like joyfulxbox?, no but I'll die on this hill anyways, this was written for joyfulxbox
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-11 19:44:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19933486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/56leon/pseuds/56leon
Summary: Originally written for Cantare for the song "JoyfulxBox", under the title "Building A Heart".A doll wanders away from his place on the shelf and finds a store full of broken goods. A ragtag group of misfit boys in a rundown building finds a beauty who doesn’t belong there. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll all find a family.





	Finding Home Between Unused Joints And Unwanted Children

**Author's Note:**

> Man, I really suck at staying on prompt.
> 
> Check out the rest of Cantare because everybody worked so hard and it turned out so well!!

In the middle of a sleepy city, there exists a toy store. _Valkyrie,_ it's called, and the pretentious name isn't just for show; while other stores with similar wares often cater to children looking to play with and love their creations, _Valkyrie's_ clientele are often the rich, the powerful, and the ones who make each purchase from the legendary toymaker less of a toy and more of a trophy.

And, in that particular toy store in that particular city, there exists a doll.

That doll sits on a shelf. It’s not a particularly high shelf, just tall enough that it wouldn't get damaged if it were to do something foolish like fall. It's the master's favorite doll, after all, his masterpiece and his magnum opus, and so nothing is allowed to happen to it. Nobody can touch it, and likewise it can do nothing to hurt itself.

But its master has been gone a long,  _ long _ time and so it can't help but yearn to be put somewhere else. Maybe it would move to the storefront, so that it can see its master when he returns. Or perhaps it would go sit next to that music box that it used to find so pitiful, only ever wound up at the master's whims.

(But then again, so is the doll only ever put on display when it so pleases him, and isn't that just a bit sad?)

The doll takes a long, long time to decide, but if it has anything to waste, it's time, and eventually even its patience runs out long before time does. It takes a look around the store, at the dolls that stare back with lifeless eyes and the music box with the squeaky handle that won't give up singing for a master who isn't home, and then finally looks at the window, at the streets outside. They're right there....

With shaky limbs not used to standing on their own, the doll begins walking towards the door. The music box makes a weird, forced noise, but the doll ignores it as it reaches for the doorknob. What’s out there? What kind of things go on beyond the world of ceramic and glass that the doll is so accustomed to? Where had its master even  _ gone _ , to leave them alone for so long?

There’s only one way to find out.

The lock clicks open and the door swings in.

* * *

Tired feet come to a stop in what appears to be an abandoned theatre; while it’s probably safer to stay in a public area, the doll isn’t sure if it would be recognized or, even worse, stolen if it were to go somewhere more crowded. Therefore, it settles on a run-down building closer to the outskirts of town, its door unlocked and the chairs moth-eaten but clean enough to sit on. The doll isn’t particularly impressed, used to an immaculately clean workshop and tidy storefront, but it’s somewhere to sit in solitude. That is, until-

"Who are you?" The doll jumps in surprise at the voice that suddenly echoes from the doorway, turning around to see three boys- not even men, but _ boys _ . What are they doing here, in this run-down warehouse? The doll wants to ask, but it's already done too much by walking that far, and talking is still out of the question.

Fortunately another voice - belonging to a sandy blond with wide eyes - addresses the louder one. “Mitsuru, don’t scare him like that. Are you okay?” The doll doesn’t move, nor does it talk, and so the boy tries again. “Do you have a name?” Again, no answer, all three of them waiting for a name that would never come. The doll can’t say it anyways, even if it wants to, but it still hurts a bit to see them brought down by so much as a stranger’s silence. The blond opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it one more time to try one final question.

“Do you....have anywhere to go?”

The doll still says nothing, and it seems as though the kids have given up hope, until finally it gives a small shake of its head. It’s not a word, but it’s an answer, the first one that the doll has given so far, and the blond smiles widely. Wider, in fact, than is necessary for such a small feat, but the doll has no need to refute it.

“Neither do we, so you can stay here if you want, nii-chan.” The doll is shocked by the weird appellation- it’s never been called anything other than its name, or just  _ the doll, _ and it’s quick to shy away from the honorific. It’s not......uncomfortable, though, and so gives a quick nod. If that’s what they want, then so it shall be. Not forever, of course, but.....it’s improper to turn down such a generous offer.

Although it may be out of obligation, the agreement still makes them light up, and Mitsuru - the hyperactive one - immediately grabs the doll’s hand and begins to lead the way further into the theatre. "This is the Toy Box, y'know," he says excitedly, dragging the doll -  _ who doesn't know, in fact -  _ around the area. It's less of a toy box and more of a stage, clean but obviously unused for its intended purpose. "And we’re the rabbits! ‘Cause, y’know, we live out in the wild! We stay here 'cause nobody else does!"

The doll says nothing, mostly because it doesn't want to but also because it can't. Surprisingly, Mitsuru says nothing on the matter, just looking at him for a minute before dragging him off to explore the rest of the theatre. It’s not a large theatre, granted, but it’s more than enough for three kids. There’s water, surprisingly, and electricity, even more so, and enough space on the stage for all four of them to share comfortably.

And somewhere, in between being dragged around the Toy Box and listening to everything that three eager kids have to say about themselves and the rundown world that they live in, the doll starts to feel at ease.

* * *

It’s not home, but the doll has to admit that it’s warmer than the store that it _does_ call home. Days turn into weeks, and the time that passes between its returns to _Valkyrie_ lengthens the same. It's not that the doll has lost faith in its master, but.....well, so many cold nights waiting in the store for a master that won't come home can only do so much for one's morale. Instead, more and more days are spent with the rabbits in the toybox, warming up by a fire as they tell stories and play upon the stage that they call home. It learns a lot about them, like how Tomoya - the blond - has a fear of dresses, and Hajime - the one with strikingly pretty blue hair - really likes flowers, and the entire trio's love for performing. It's not uncommon for them to put on shows, for the doll and for each other, and dream about what could happen if they just reached out and touched somebody's heart.

Reality touches theirs instead, though; they're a bunch of kids, orphans......nothing but squatters, really. It breaks the doll's ceramic heart to see them so disheartened, even more so to realize there’s not much it can do to help. All it’s doing is being a freeloader for a group of freeloaders, a hindrance to the kids who are already down on their luck.

However, it’s not like it’s being forced to leave. Quite the opposite, in fact. They don't push it to do anything that it doesn't want, but they also don't hold it back. Whether it stays with them or returns to master’s shop, whether it talks or not.... 

Has it always wanted to talk? No, that can't be right, since it has always gone with the will of its master, but there's still a loneliness that comes from silence, and it can't help but wonder. If only it could say something to assure the others. If only it could talk.

_ If only? _

A small word comes out of its mouth- not even a word, more like a sound, but it's enough to elicit excited reactions from the rabbits in turn. All three boys look absolutely  _ thrilled,  _ and the doll is suddenly flustered, taking a step back. “I-”

The doll says it again, one single word, but it's as if the sun has started shining for the first time for those boys, and they crowd around it excitedly. “So ya  _ can _ speak,” Mitsuru crows, grinning widely. “You have such a pretty voice! You should use it more, y'know!”

The doll shakes its head frantically. Its master had forbid it from ever saying anything, after all, and suddenly it feels more self conscious than ever. However....just their reactions alone is enough to make it hesitate.

Mitsuru is the most abrasive of the four, all wide-eyed and making a proclamation out of every little thing. Every time the doll moves, it's like he has to find joy in it, but it's.....not unwelcome. Tomoya is calmer, but still holds the doll in high regard, to the point where it both flusters the doll and instills a sense of purpose in it. And Hajime....

"Please?" Hajime's presence is the smallest of the three, but maybe that's what put the doll over the edge. Taking the step, so much as asking.....does it really mean so much to them?

It takes a breath, knowing that if it steps off this precipice, there's no coming back, and speaks, its- no, _ his _ voice quiet and raspy from disuse-

“Nazuna. My name is Nazuna.”

* * *

His voice grows, as does his personality, as does his love for the kids who had taken him in, but that doesn’t mean all of his worries are far from his mind. It’s only been a handful of months, but that’s still a long time for his master to be gone from _Valkyrie,_ and so various things start to come together, threads weaving into a plot to protect both the life Nazuna had and the one he currently has. If his master _weren’t_ to come back.....no, even if he were, Nazuna can’t help but feel as though the warmth of the Toy Box is something that he just can’t give up to return to the cold shelf that he had known before.

The police show up one day, and Nazuna isn't thrilled to say he's prepared for it. However, it’s not a  _ bad _ thing, and he’s the only one who stays calm as two men come into the theatre, looking for the rabbits. It seems as though they’re acquainted, but in what way Nazuna doesn’t know; he’s surprised to see them in the first place, and even more so to realize that the others are less worried at their presence and more worried about the message they’ve come to relay.

“This building is going down,” one of them says. “You can’t stay here forever. And you,” he turns to Nazuna, who barely flinches under the stern gaze. “You have a home to go back to. You’re not part of this.”

Mitsuru, ever the vocal one, is the first to shout, angry and scared all at the same time. “You can’t! This  _ is _ our home! Even if nobody else wants it, we do, y’know!” Tomoya and even Hajime join in the protest, albeit at varying levels of volume, but each of their wishes are the same. They aren’t going to leave their own piece of the world; they aren’t going to be kicked out of their own home.

"You’re wrong." Nazuna's voice comes out of its own volition, and he's just as surprised as the men forcing them out.  _ Home..... _ he pushes down the feelings associated with the word - it’s not time to be sentimental, he can save it for later - and pulls a handful of gold coins from his pockets. It's not a lot for Nazuna, was never a lot for his master who earned far more with one doll, but it's plenty to afford a run-down theatre that nobody cares enough about to buy except for him. “I....I want to buy the Toy Box. For them.”

The two men look at each other before pulling Nazuna away and speaking to him one-on-one. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, he already knows that much, and ownership won't transfer in one day, but.....whatever they say, he agrees to. Fortunately, laws only apply so much to abandoned buildings, and the gold in his hands is enough to buy the rights to the theatre. All that’s left is finalizing everything, and that includes losing his connections to  _ Valkyrie. _ It’s a hard decision, but it’s his to make.

“If that’s everything,” he says finally, after the long conversation and the offer for more time to think it over (an offer which he obstinately refuses), “the sooner we get this done, the better.” The two older men can only look at each other and nod.

The rabbits stare at him from the stage while he's escorted away, to some legal building halfway across the city to finalize everything. All he can do is look back and flash them a piece sign with a smile. "Don't worry guys, it'll be okay!" And, if he has to be truthful with himself....

Well, he really does believe it.

* * *

“You know what this means, right? We can finally use the Toy Box like it’s meant to be.”

"Right! And we'll invite everybody! That way, they'll have to see how amazing we are, y'know?"

There are cheers all around as Mitsuru throws his drink in the air for a toast; it's met by three equally excited glasses, all held by the proud new owners of the freshly branded Toy Box. There are still plans to make and things to do and  _ god, _ so much cleaning before they officially open, but it’s  _ theirs, _ and Nazuna can’t help but indulge them for a while.

Unfortunately, though, they’re not the only part of his life, and there’s a lot to be finished on the other side, and he can’t help but dwell on other things as his eyes follow Mitsuru and Tomoya as the former begins to chase the latter around the main stage. Sitting next to him however, Hajime is the first to notice Nazuna’s hesitation, and looks at him as the other two are still busy goofing off. "Are you okay, nii-chan?"

He's close to saying no, he's fine, but he stops himself. They've already gone through so much together that saying anything but the truth would be insulting to all of them. Instead, he takes a deep breath and sighs, loud enough to gain the others' attention as he speaks.

"I gotta go." He doesn't  _ have  _ to, but there are strings to cut that he would feel bad leaving unattended. "Finish up some stuff outside, I mean."

That earns a long silence from the others, not without hesitation. However, only Tomoya is able to ask the question on all of their minds. “Will you be back?”

Nazuna grins at Tomoya, an expression that's starting to feel more natural on his once-stiff face. “Course I will be. I couldn't just abandon you after all this, could I? Not the Toy Box, and not all of you guys.” 

The others breathe a long sigh of relief, and he can't find it in himself to be offended. Months, or even  _ weeks _ ago, he would have had the same doubts in himself, still holding out for a master who loved the presentation more than the present. But that's when he was still a doll, and needless to say, he's not one anymore. Toy Box or not, he can't say that he's held together by puppet strings and superiority, but love and friendship. Hajime, Mitsuru, Tomoya......being somebody else's plaything would be an insult to the time he's spent with them.

He can't be a doll if he's a rabbit.

* * *

On the corner of a street in a sleepy city, in a shop that once used to be filled with pride but now collects dust and wallows in sorrow, a visitor enters _Valkyrie._

The jingling of a bell is usually enough to brighten his eyes, but the one opening the door this time is Nazuna himself, and his once sure steps are now filled with trepidation. Two blocks ago, somewhere between his new home and his old, worry had begun to seep into his lungs, worry that he had made the wrong choice and that he was a doll after all, because how could he ever be anything more?

But he thinks of the boys he's taken under his wing - and who had allowed him into their nest in turn - and he knows he can't turn back, each of their bright smiles and reassuring words echoing in his mind until he steps into  _ Valkyrie _ for the first time in several months. The music box is playing, a despondent melody that Nazuna had never heard before, but it comes to a halt as its master’s attention turns immediately to the doll.

"I'm not your doll," Nazuna blurts out, and while he expects rage and denial, the acceptance that he doesn't prepare to see hurts even more. He thinks he can understand, though. Everything his master had done had been for his sake, and he had broken it all in a single sentence. Maybe it's for the best, though. Maybe for both of them.

His master.....no,  _ Shuu _ looks at him, incredibly tired and broken and oh, isn't  _ that _ ironic, but he can't find any hostility to spare for the man he used to consider his owner. If anything, it's all been reduced to pity. “You're not a doll anymore,” his words are just as measured as any of his creations had been, each phrase deliberate in its delivery, “so what are you?”

Nazuna can't blame him for the question; after all, it was something he used to ask himself all the time, when he wasn’t even a  _ he _ but still an  _ it. _ And now, it's posed to him in the form of not fear, but resignation.  _ If I'm not a doll, then what am I?  _ Finally, with eyes full of life that even a master doll-maker couldn't give to another person and a smile that could never be replicated with porcelain and ink, he has an answer.

“I'm loved.”


End file.
